There’s a show for everything. From antiques to zebra patterned handbags, virtually every conceivable product or service, both B2B and B2C, has an exhibition dedicated to it. One of the first exhibition stands I designed almost 30 years ago was for a company exhibiting at the Pig & Poultry Fair, selling pig sperm…Quality stuff, apparently, though the tasting stations were deserted.
Some shows are small, in the lobby of a hotel, with a handful of exhibitors and a few hundred visitors. Some are huge, taking up all 20 halls of the NEC with thousands of stands and hundreds of thousands of visitors. All doing exactly the same thing: putting exhibitors in front of potential customers.
So should you be looking at taking space at the next trade show in your industry?
What’s the point?
Quite simply, where else are you going to find hundreds if not thousands of potential customers all under one roof?
All pre-qualified to varying degrees, many there with the sole intention of spending money and/or finding new suppliers. How long would it take you to find those potential customers on your own? How long would it take you to call or even visit them? But at a show they are there, on a silver platter, just waiting to see what you’ve got to offer.
Every industry is different, but let’s say that you could have a decent conversation with a prospect in 5 minutes – ascertain what they want, qualify their level of interest, give an overview of what you offer, gather their information and book a follow up appointment. That means 12 prospects an hour, 96 a day multiplied by how many days the show runs and how many staff you have working our stand. How long would that take to achieve in the office? Weeks? Months? Years…? A good show can massively boost your sales in a very short space of time.
Finding the right show
There’s a publication called ‘The Exhibition Bulletin’ that lists every major show worldwide over the coming year or more, split into country and venue. It also gives data on such things as visitor numbers for the previous year, contact details for the show organisers and the show website.
Trade associations often either have a hand in organising or are tied in to the main industry show, so they would have details of any exhibitions in their industry. You could also keep an eye out in our industry publications for upcoming events. LinkedIn has industry specific groups, networking events and online forums.
Next up, do your homework. The organiser’s job is to promote the show and bring the visitors through the door. Some do this better than others. Ask for numbers and the breakdown of the demographics for the visitors of the previous show. But don’t just take their word for it – ask for contact details of previous exhibitors (references, if you like) and talk to them about what the how is like. For new shows this can be difficult, but many organisers will have a portfolio of shows, not just one, so you can take a look at how other shows that they organise perform.
Just because it’s at a major venue doesn’t mean it’s going to be a good show with lots of cash laden visitors. Last year a client of ours spent the best part of £10k to be at what was billed as a major Fitness Expo, only to find less than 500 visitors coming through the doors over two days and none of the celebrity guests turning up. Riot police were called when there was an exhibitor uprising and the organisers did a runner… Choosing a show with known organisers, a good track record and established brand should be a starting point for a productive exhibition.
Book your slot (best get best)
Obviously if you can nab the stand space front and centre to the show entrance then you’ll catch every visitor as they enter the show. Those pitches, particularly at the larger events, can come at a premium price and often get booked up years in advance by the big boys. So what are the next best alternatives?
A study of visitor flow at major exhibitions some years back showed that over 70% of visitors turned left upon entering the show. The conclusion was that the majority had a predisposition to clockwise movement around the halls. After the initial left turn, there was a fairly even split between going around the perimeter and then working towards the middle, and starting at one corner and working aisles up and down ‘supermarket style’. So if front and centre aren’t available, left of the entrance as you walk in is the next best option.
After that, there are some other things that can effect the flow of visitors to your stand. A spot near to the seminar theatre entrance or exit will catch more visitors as they come and go from the presentations. Sponsored demo areas will have the same effect, as will the toilets and cafes. Stand space opposite a major exhibitor’s stand will also increase potential numbers. Once you’ve picked our spot you may be faced with one more quandary – how many open/closed sides? A corner spot – open two sides – will bring traffic from at least two aisles. An open 3 sides stand from three approaches. But a closed 3 sides/open frontage only catches a visitor’s eye as they walk past – they get no view from a distance.
Let the exhibitionist see the stand!
You may expect me to say “the biggest, most expensive possible!” but it really does depends on your expected ROI. For small shows in hotels where you expect visitors in the hundreds and maybe only a handful of sales, then a couple of pull up banners and maybe a small pop up next to your (organiser provided) trestle table may be all you need. If it’s a big national show you may need to up your profile with something a bit more substantial.
Stand-wise there are four main options: Pull ups & pop ups:
The staple of the small shows. Erected in minutes by yourself, transportable in a car, reusable and relatively cheap, pop up stands and pull up banners will be what you see at places like the EC National Events. Great if you’ve got a small space and only a few hours window to set up. A standard ‘3 x 3’ pop up stand should set you back less than £1,000 including artwork design. They’ll stand on their own or make part of a bigger backdrop with pull up banners that begin at less than £100 each.
Shell scheme stands:
Usually ‘pole & panel’ systems; sometimes ‘traditional’ timber built, the shell scheme stands are the smaller stands at the larger shows, or all the stands at the smaller shows. The ‘shell’ refers to the stand shell that is provided for you: carpet, walls, fascia, lighting (usually) and power (sometimes). Packages can include furniture, shelving, extra walling for store & meeting rooms, reception counters, plinths and graphics. Many exhibitors take a basic shell scheme stand and dress it with pop ups and banner stands. At the larger exhibitions this type of stand can work out the cheapest option for exhibiting.
System stands:
A step up from pop ups, system stands such as Octanorm, Clip, T3 and UniBox offer a reusable, reconfigurable solution. You can gain extra height and presence that a pop up can’t give you and a good stock of system will last you years. You can also add to it if you take on larger stands and also utilise it for very small spaces. It allows you the option of putting it up yourself with minimal
expertise, or getting a stand contractor to do it for you at less cost than a custom built stand.
Custom build stands:
A bespoke stand doesn’t have to be a one off; stands can be designed and built in a modular way so that they can be reused over multiple shows and reconfigured to different stand sizes with minimal new build.
A basic stand – back wall, graphics, lighting gantry and lighting – can and often does turn out not much more than having a shell scheme stand. One exhibition industry rule of thumb says that you should spend at least what the floor space cost you on your stand build.
These days £200 – £300 per m2 should get you a good quality, nicely designed, well built and specified bespoke stand.
Exhibiting basics
Regardless of size and type of stand, there are some simple basics that hold true for all stands and shows:
Where possible, utilise height and light: go as high as you can with branding and messages to make them visible from as far away as possible, and get good lighting on to your graphics and displays.
Keep sightlines and visitor flow around the stand as open as possible. It’s no good coming up with a killer tagline or having the best product ever if no one can see it! Allow space for visitors to get on to your stand and see what you’ve got to offer. Less is definitely more – looking like a corner shop or market stall, with every single thing you produce stacked high will not give the best impression. If you can’t fit everything on, either be more selective or book a bigger stand!
Use video and screens to create movement and interest. Even a simple rolling slideshow on a single screen will help catch people’s attention.
Have enough staff. If there’s only one person manning your stand, what happens when they are talking to someone and another prospect approaches? Adequate stand staff is an essential ingredient of a successful show.
Oh, and look the part. Even with enough staff, if you’re all in mismatched jeans and t-shirts then you just won’t look professional. Invest in some good quality branded polo shirts or similar as a minimum and you’ll look and feel like a team.
A successful show needs proper design and planning. Next month we’ll look at how best to go about designing your stand and the preparation that goes into getting the most from your exhibition investment, including making the most of PR and Social Media.
If you’d like more information or help on exhibiting you can find more at: www.mpdcreative.co.uk or give Mark a call on: 02476 231 841 or email at: [email protected]
